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Vittorio Brambilla

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Italian racing driver (1937–2001)

Vittorio Brambilla
Brambilla at the1975 British Grand Prix
Born	(1937-11-11)11 November 1937 Monza,Kingdom of Italy
Died	26 May 2001(2001-05-26) (aged 63) Lesmo, Italy
Spouse	Daria Cappellin
Children	3
Relatives	Ernesto Brambilla (brother)

Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Italian
Active years	1974–1980
Teams	March,Surtees,Alfa Romeo
Entries	79 (74 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	1
Podiums	1
Careerpoints	15.5
Pole positions	1
Fastest laps	1
First entry	1974 South African Grand Prix
First win	1975 Austrian Grand Prix
Last entry	1980 Italian Grand Prix

Vittorio Brambilla (Italian pronunciation:[vitˈtɔːrjobramˈbilla]; 11 November 1937 – 26 May 2001) was an Italianracing driver, who competed inFormula One from1974 to1980. Nicknamed "the Monza Gorilla",^[a] Brambilla won the1975 Austrian Grand Prix withMarch.

Born and raised inMonza, Brambilla competed in Formula One forMarch,Surtees andAlfa Romeo. A wet weather specialist, Brambilla won the curtailedAustrian Grand Prix in1975 with a 27-second margin overJames Hunt in only 29 laps.

Career

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Born in the town ofMonza itself, Brambilla began racing motorcycles in 1957 and won the Italian national 175cc title in 1958. He continued to race motorcycles on a casual basis throughout his career, finishing 12th in a guest appearance at the1969 Italian 500cc motorcycle Grand Prix riding a Paton. Before becoming a mechanic he also racedgo-karts. His older brother,Ernesto ("Tino"), was also a racing driver.^[2]

Formula Three, Formula Two, Sports cars

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Brambilla returned to racing in 1968, inFormula 3 and won the Italian championship in 1972, by which time he was already racingFormula 2. Brambilla was 2nd toJacky Ickx in a 1970 2-heat Formula Two race at the Salzburg Ring inSalzburg, Austria.^[3] He drove aMarch BMW to 4th place inHockenheim, in a 1973 Formula Two race. There were two 10-lap heats covering 271.5 km (168.7 mi).^[4] Brambilla won the City ofEnna Cup, the 5th 1973 event in the European automaker's championship for 2,000 cc cars. He averaged 195 km/h (121 mph) over 290 km (180 mi). He drove anAbarth-Osella.^[5] Brambilla captured the pole for theMonza 4-hour auto race in aBMW 3.5 CSL.^[6]

Formula One

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March 1974–1976

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Brambilla driving aMarch 761 at the1976 German Grand Prix.

In his first year of Formula One, Brambilla was as quick as his teammate Stuck, although more accident-prone. In the Swedish GP he ran in fifth until an engine problem. Brambilla finished tied for 18th, last, in the1974 Formula One World Championship standings.^[7] In 1975 he amazed many at the Belgian GP, where he led until encountering brakes problems after 54 laps, and at the1975 Swedish Grand Prix, where he secured pole position until a transmission failure forced him to retire after 36 laps. His great day came at theÖsterreichring in 1975, when he won a wetAustrian Grand Prix. He spun off and wrecked the nose of his car as he took the chequered flag, and completed his slowing down lap with the front of the car destroyed while waving to the crowd (being the first victory of anItalian driver since the1966 Italian Grand Prix withLudovico Scarfiotti). As the race was shortened, with 60% of it completed, he only received 4.5 points instead of 9 for the win.^[8] A more serious accident occurred that season when Brambilla crashed his March through a new curve atWatkins Glen during qualifying for the1975 United States Grand Prix. He backed into a guard rail afterwards but was unhurt. The session ended at that point withNiki Lauda leading. Before his accident Brambilla was second fastest with a lap of 190.24 km/h (118.21 mph).^[9] During 1976 he suffered several accidents and mechanical retirements, collecting only one point at the1976 Dutch Grand Prix. He qualified his March in 8th position for the1976 United States Grand Prix West.^[10] In the race Brambilla was tapped from behind byCarlos Reutemann before they reached the first turn.^[11] He lost the right rear wheel on his March on the 35th lap of the1976 United States Grand Prix after holding fifth place for a time.^[12]

Surtees (1977–1978)

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Brambilla driving forSurtees at the1978 British Grand Prix

In 1977, Brambilla moved to theSurtees team, where he scored six points. At the same time he also drove for theAlfa Romeo sports car team, achieving the World Championship for the team. Brambilla finished 8th in the1977 Monaco Grand Prix.^[13]

Brambilla continued with Surtees in1978. At the1978 United States Grand Prix West he placed 17th in qualifying, with a time of 1:23.212.^[14] His #19 Beta Surtees TS 19 finished 14th after experiencing engine failure on lap 50.^[15]

In a multiple pileup atMonza in the1978 Italian Grand Prix, Brambilla suffered serious head injuries when he was hit by a flying wheel during a multiple car collision on the opening lap. In reaction to that race, in whichRonnie Peterson sustained fatal injuries, it was announced in October 1978 that the Italian Grand Prix would move to theAutodromo Dino Ferrari circuit inImola for the next three years^[16] although this did not actually happen until 1980. The1979 Italian Grand Prix was at Monza again, and Brambilla recovered and returned to participate in that race.^[17]

Alfa Romeo (1979–1980)

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Brambilla drove briefly for the Alfa Romeo Formula One team in 1979 and 1980. On the first day of qualifying for the1979 United States Grand Prix Brambilla was timed at 134.98 km/h (83.87 mph). Heavy rain caused a slick track and slower times.^[18] In December 1979 Alfa Romeo revealed its Formula One race car for the 1980 season. The company namedPatrick Depailler, Brambilla, andBruno Giacomelli as its drivers. The racer was nearly identical to one driven by Giacomelli in the1979 Italian Grand Prix. It was awing car design with aV-12 engine that generated more than 520 hp (388 kW). Alfa Romeo announced that it was working on a 1,500 cubic centimeterturbocharged engine which was to begin track testing in a Formula One car in the summer of 1980.^[19]

Brambilla competing at the1980 Silverstone 6 Hours in anOsella PA8

Retirement and death

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Brambilla retired at the end of the 1980 season. In the early 1990s he opened a Formula One memorabilia shop in Milan, occasionally driving the safety car during the Italian Grand Prix. He died atLesmo, nearMilan, of aheart attack at the age of 63 while gardening at his home. He reportedly collapsed while mowing the lawn.^[20]

Racing record

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Complete European Formula Two Championship results

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(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Pos.	Pts
1970	Scuderia Picchio Rossa	Brabham BT23	Ford	THR DNS	HOC	BAR 10	ROU														13th	3
	North Italian Racing Developments	Brabham BT30						PER Ret
	North Italian Racing Developments	Brabham BT23							TUL 6
	Scuderia Ala d'Oro	Brabham BT30								IMO Ret	HOC 8
1971	Scuderia Ala d'Oro	Brabham BT30	Ford	HOC Ret	THR Ret	NÜR Ret	JAR	PAL													18th	2
	Scuderia Ala d'Oro	March 712M							ROU DNQ	MAN	TUL	ALB	VLL
	Vittorio Brambilla	March 712M												VLL 5
1972	Vittorio Brambilla	March 712M	BMW	MAL	THR	HOC	PAU	PAL	HOC	ROU	ÖST 9	IMO Ret	MAN	PER	SAL	ALB	HOC				NC	0
1973	Beta Racing Team	March 712M	BMW	MAL 6																	4th	35
1973	Beta Racing Team	March 732	BMW		HOC 11	THR 7	NÜR 5	PAU Ret	KIN	NIV 3	HOC 4	ROU	MNZ Ret	MAN	KAR	PER 2	SAL 1	NOR	ALB 1	VLL 2	4th	35
1974	Brian Lewis Racing	March 732	BMW	BAR	HOC	PAU	SAL	HOC	MUG	KAR	PER	HOC	VLL 12								NC	0
1975	Project 3 Racing	March 752	BMW	EST	THR NC	HOC Ret	NÜR	PAU	HOC	SAL 12	ROU	MUG Ret	PER Ret	SIL	ZOL	NOG	VLL 1				13th	9
1976	Project Four Racing	March 762	Lancia	HOC	THR	VLL Ret	SAL	PAU	HOC	ROU	MUG										NC	0
1976	Vittorio Brambilla	March 732	Ferrari									PER DNQ	EST	NOG	HOC						NC	0
1977	Willi Kauhsen Racing Team	Elf 2J	Renault	SIL	THR	HOC	NÜR	VLL	PAU	MUG	ROU	NOG	PER	MIS Ret	EST	DON					NC	0
Source:^[21]

Complete Formula One results

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(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	WDC	Pts
1974	Beta Utensili	March 741	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0V8	ARG	BRA	RSA 10	ESP DNS	BEL 9	MON Ret	SWE 10	NED 10	FRA 11	GBR Ret	GER 13	AUT 6	ITA Ret	CAN DNQ	USA Ret			18th	1
1975	Beta Team March	March 741	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0V8	ARG 9	BRA Ret																11th	6.5
1975	Beta Team March	March 751	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0V8			RSA Ret	ESP 5^‡	MON Ret	BEL Ret	SWE Ret	NED Ret	FRA Ret	GBR 6	GER Ret	AUT 1^‡	ITA Ret	USA 7				11th	6.5
1976	Beta Team March	March 761	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0V8	BRA Ret	RSA 8	USW Ret	ESP Ret	BEL Ret	MON Ret	SWE 10	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER Ret	AUT Ret	NED 6	ITA 7	CAN 14	USA Ret	JPN Ret		19th	1
1977	Beta Team Surtees	Surtees TS19	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0V8	ARG 7	BRA Ret	RSA 7	USW Ret	ESP Ret	MON 8	BEL 4	SWE Ret	FRA 13	GBR 8	GER 5	AUT 15	NED 12	ITA Ret	USA 19	CAN 6	JPN 8	16th	6
1978	Beta Team Surtees	Surtees TS19	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0V8	ARG 18	BRA DNQ	RSA 12	USW Ret														19th	1
1978	Beta Team Surtees	Surtees TS20	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0V8					MON DNQ	BEL 13	ESP 7	SWE Ret	FRA 17	GBR 9	GER Ret	AUT 6	NED DSQ	ITA Ret	USA	CAN		19th	1
1979	Autodelta	Alfa Romeo 177	Alfa Romeo 115-12 3.0F12	ARG	BRA	RSA	USW	ESP	BEL	MON	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA 12					NC	0
1979	Autodelta	Alfa Romeo 179	Alfa Romeo 1260 3.0V12														CAN Ret	USA DNQ			NC	0
1980	Marlboro Team Alfa Romeo	Alfa Romeo 179	Alfa Romeo 1260 3.0V12	ARG	BRA	RSA	USW	BEL	MON	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	NED Ret	ITA Ret	CAN	USA				NC	0
Sources:^[22]^[23]

^‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance completed.

Notes

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^Brambilla was known asThe Monza Gorilla due to his aggressive driving style andmachismo characteristics, as well as his birth inMonza.^[1]

References

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^"Vittorio Brambilla: Gorilla in the midst".Motor Sport Magazine. February 2006. Retrieved13 October 2024.
^"Vittorio Brambilla Profile". grandprix.com. Retrieved26 January 2016.
^Ickx Wins Honors In Salzburg Race,New York Times, 31 August 1970, Page 48.
^Mass Captures Formula Two Race, New York Times, 18 June 1973, Page 41.
^Brambilla Is Victor, New York Times, 16 August 1973, Page 75.
^Merzario The Fastest, New York Times, 23 March 1975, Page 206.
^Final Driver Standing, New York Times, 7 October 1974, Page 45.
^Brain Surgery for Driver, New York Times, 18 August 1975, Page 17.
^Lauda, in 'Training' Car, Paces Qualifying At Glen, New York Times, 4 October 1975, Page 22.
^Regazzoni Takes Coast Race Pole, New York Times, 28 March 1976, Page 175.
^Good Turn For Brambilla? Drivers In Grand Prix Get A Fresh, New Start,Los Angeles Times, 29 March 1978, Page E1.
^Hunt Takes U.S. Grand Prix With Lauda Third, 11 October 1976, Page 47.
^Auto Racing,New York Times, 23 May 1977, Page E36.
^At Long Beach, Calif.,New York Times, 2 April 1978, Page S8.
^"Complete results of 1978 Long Beach Grand Prix".The Los Angeles Times. 2 April 1979. pp. H10. Retrieved31 May 2022.
^"Italian Grand Prix Moved from Dangerous Monza Track".The Los Angeles Times. 27 October 1978. pp. III-4. Retrieved31 May 2022.
^"2 Reported Indicted In Fatal Crash",New York Times, 3 October 1979, Page D18.
^Rain Sets Back Prix Qualifying,Washington Post, 6 October 1979, Page D2.
^Alfa Romeo Racer Shown, Los Angeles Times, 11 December 1979, Page D8.
^"Former Formula One driver Brambilla dies". GPUpdate.net. 27 May 2001. Retrieved1 February 2011.
^"Vittorio Brambilla".Motor Sport. Retrieved26 August 2023.
^"Vittorio Brambilla Results". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved26 August 2023.
^Small, Steve (2000). "Vittorio Brambilla".Grand Prix Who's Who (Third ed.). Reading, Berkshire: Travel Publishing. pp. 100–102.ISBN 978-1-902007-46-5. Retrieved26 August 2023 – via Internet Archive.